Downtown crowds on the line

Sunday

In the ongoing effort to deal with problem crowds downtown, police have drawn a line in the sand. Or, to be more precise, on the sidewalk, with the warning “DO NOT BLOCK PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.”

At the police department’s request, the city earlier this month used white paint to outline three large rectangular areas on city sidewalks beside Lane Transit District’s Eugene Station. The city then painted within the rectangles, in bold yellow, the “do not block” warning, a not-very-subtle reminder for people to keep the paths clear or face a ticket.

Some welcome the change, saying it had become thorny to negotiate the dense crowds of congregating youths and others.

But critics say ensuring the rights of some to move freely should not come at the expense of the rights of others to stand around — alone or in groups — on public sidewalks and not move at all.

Sgt. Terry Fitzpatrick, a member of a broad effort to address crime and livability concerns downtown, suggested adding the message and white lines designating the no-loitering zones to sidewalks along the bus station at 10th and Olive streets to clarify where people can remain standing and where they must keep moving, Lt. Doug Mozan said.

Police had been receiving complaints — many of them from the elderly or people who use wheelchairs — that it was increasingly difficult to use the sidewalks given throngs of people simply standing and passing the time, Mozan said.

“We knew that folks blocking the sidewalks were a significant enough problem that something would have to be done,” he added.

Blocking a public sidewalk is a misdemeanor offense punishable with jail time, although it’s far more likely to result in a fine of $280, Mozan said. Through Friday, police hadn’t ticketed any violators and were simply spreading the word to mind the white lines and the “do not block” language, he said.

Tom Crites, 39, a wheelchair user who rides LTD, is all for the innovation. “I think it’s great,” he said. “In the summertime, it’s crowded at the bus stop.”

Logan Leff, Crites’ friend and co-worker, said the cigarette smoke around loitering crowds can get thick. “It’s kind of like, ‘hold your breath,’?” he said. “Since they put these lines out, the groups that used to hang out over by the EmX aren’t there anymore.”

But others worry that the no-standing zones could be used to unfairly target certain groups or push people dangerously close to the street.

David Fidanque, executive director of ACLU of Oregon, said sidewalks are “a traditional public forum where people can talk to each other and picket and engage in all kinds of social and speech activity.”

“If what (police) are doing is rousting people that make other people uncomfortable due to the way they dress or talk — and assuming those individuals are not breaking some other law — then there’s a problem,” Fidanque said. “You can’t roust people just because other people find them offensive.”

The city’s move received mixed reviews from a group of teens who stood smoking and chatting on the sidewalk along 10th Avenue, squeezed between the street and “do not block” zone.

“You get a nice day and this isn’t nearly enough room for the people that are going to be hanging out,” said Chris Clark, 19. “I’m worried I’m going to stop (in a do-not-block zone) for 30 seconds (to talk to a friend) and they’re going to bust me anyway.”

Andy Vobora, an LTD spokesman, said the city’s efforts in recent months to keep people from standing and smoking in front of the Eugene Public Library main entrance prompted many of them to move across the street, crowding areas around the bus station. He said the sidewalk warnings have been well-received by riders and business owners in the area.

In February, the City Council banned smoking outside city-owned buildings that serve children. The ban was mainly aimed at preventing large groups of people smoking outside the library, officials have said.

Mozan said problems in front of the library had included drug dealing, drug abuse and fights, and that increased enforcement there prompted some offenders to move across the street to the bus station.

Regarding whether the sidewalk strategy addresses a downtown problem or simply relocates it, he was unapologetic.

“The fact is that people will be displaced … when there is a problem and when the police respond in earnest to that problem,” Mozan said. “I’m OK with chasing the problem around a little bit as long as we stay abreast of it and don’t cause one backyard to suffer because another one has been cleaned out.”

On the LTD block, two of the sidewalk no-standing zones are along the north side of the block, and one is on the west side, facing the library.

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